Rapunzel
by Miyuki 3942
Summary: Riku has super long teal hair that turns blonde when cut! But someone's after her hair's power -LOL-! Please read! MikuXLen AND RinXLen! Semi-based on an awesome song by FumiP! I don't own that song OR Vocaloid! :D
1. Chapter 1

Rapunzel

(Vocaloid Fanfiction)

*I don't own Vocaloid and I'm not the maker of the song 'Rapunzel' (Hatsune Miku) FumiP (N*co Nico Douga)did.

Ch. 1 My name is Riku!

**Riku's POV**

Uh...

Hello~!

(I'm sorry but the author couldn't think of a proper introduction...)

My name is Riku!

And just so you know, I'm well-aware of the many stories about Rapunzel.

And yes, I do have insanely long hair. It's not magic or anything. At least I don't think so. It's colored teal so I don't know what's with that.

I also live in a tower. My caretaker is a wise and pretty 20-year-old named Ruka. She's super nice and has long, flowing pink hair.

She isn't evil! She's super nice and she's never acted suspicious or anything.

And although I might PROBABLY be far from civilization, I can still hear a few sounds that tell me humans could be near.

Anyway, right now, I'm just singing around in my room beside my window to pass the time while waiting for Ruka.

~o~

Might not be the exact lyrics so just imagine the song in your head. Or you can listen to it on Y*utube.

When the sky cleared up,

"I hope I can go somewhere far."

As to drown that thought out, alone I sing.

People smile, talking to one another, singing to one another.

From far beyond, those sounds come passing down, vibrating through winds.

Why does the evening-sun set?

Why do flowers whither?

Placing my thoughts straight forward, to this scene that spread out,

I will sing.

This voice, if you can hear this...

~o~

"Huh? What the...?"

Just as I was about to get to the chorus, I saw a paper plane suddenly landed on my table near the window.

I unfolded it, expecting a letter.

'Happy Birthday!' That's what it said. Today was my 14th Birthday.

I looked out the window and saw a smiling Ren down there.

Ren is a boy I met a week ago.

~Flashback: A Week Ago~

I was looking out the window when I saw a blonde boy down there playing with the animals.

All of a sudden, he looked my way. He saw me. I hid.

The next day, I was quietly reading a book beside the window when wild paper plane appears on top of the book.

I look out the window and that guy from yesterday is on top of the nearest tree.

I unfolded the paper plane and found a letter.

'Hey. I'm Ren.'

I got a pen and write something back.

'You can't be here. My caretaker will come home any minute.'

A few seconds later, he throws it again. He must have had a pen with him.

'What's your name?'

'Riku. Please go away. My caretaker will get mad if she finds out you're talking to me.'

'How old are you?'

'Ugh. I'm turning 14 next week. Now go home.'

'Cool. I'm 14.'

'That's nice. Go away.'

'You single?'

'GTFO!'

'No.'

'Ugh. Okay, bye,' I wrote and threw the paper plane at him and went to bed.

Of course, he didn't give up. The following days, he kept talking to me through the paper planes he brings.

Whenever the paper runs out of space to write in, we use the ones I have in the tower.

~Flashback End~

I got a pen and wrote a reply.

'Ruka's coming home extra early today! Pleeeeaaaase go home!'

'But I wanna celebrate your birthday too!'

'Stop being difficult.'

'I can't! I'm so good at it!' he replied. I giggled a little bit. Then, I looked out the window and looked at the small cave.

It was the only way in and out of the area where the tower was. Ruka was there.

'Ruka's there! Hide!'

* * *

**A/N: This is both MikuXLen AND RinXLen! You'll know why later.**

**And like I said in my other fanfic, Heart Restoration (If you read it), I like making cute stories out of Vocaloid songs.**

**But actually, I started making this before I found FumiP's Rapunzel sung by Miku. So obvious enough, I don't own that song or Vocaloid or anything except my imagination and this fanfic!**

**... I'm still wondering why FumiP deleted all his work from N*co N*co D*uga. It was a really good song...**

**This COULD be a bit of Paper Plane of Rin and Len in this chapter too, I think.**

**Well, anyway, tell me your opinions and please review! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Rapunzel

Ch. 2 Riku's Birthday

**Riku's POV**

After getting that letter, he jumped down from the tree and hid in the bushes.

Ruka went to the door of the tower and unlocked it. She has the only key. For some reason, she doesn't let me out.

"Riku~! I'm home!"

"Ruka!" I ran down and hugged her.

"Were you lonely?"

"A little..." Nope. I was scared that you might find Ren.

"Well, happy birthday! I'm going to cook something special just for you! Go to your room and rest."

"Uh..." My room is all the way to the top of the tower so...

"Never mind. Just go rest in the third floor or something."

"Uh, okay," That said, I ran up to the third floor.

I looked out the window for Ren. I didn't see him. I shrugged and looked for a book to read.

~o~

"Riku! Come down here!"

"H-huh?" I woke up to find myself lying down on a couch with the book open on my lap. I must've fallen asleep while reading.

It was pretty dark. It must be night already. I ran downstairs.

"Ruka?"

"Look! I got you cake!"

"What? You didn't have to..."

"Hey, it's your birthday."

"But I don't want you to trouble yourself just because-" She laid her hands on my shoulders.

"I bought the cake on my own will and there is nothing you can do now that it's here." She said with a serious face.

"O-okay..."

~o~

After eating, she said she had to go somewhere again.

"I'm sorry. But anyway, take care of yourself, 'kay?"

"Sure. Stay safe."

"You too!" Then, she left without turning back.

I guess I should go clean up then.

Oh wait, what about Ren? Is he still there?

I ran to the window. I couldn't see any sign of him. He couldn't still be here. He probably left for home already.

I turned away from the window and heard some rustling outside. I looked out the window again.

Ren stood up from the bushes, smiling. Then, he threw a paper plane at me.

I read the message in it.

'How's your birthday?'

'You're still here? Go home. You can't read and write in the dark,' I wrote and sent it back to him.

Then, he sent it to me again.

'If that's the case, then you could've just told me instead of writing it in a message.'

What the heck?

I heard him gasp. Then, I heard more rustling sounds. Six other people popped out around him.


	3. Chapter 3

Rapunzel

Ch. 3 What Do They Want?

**Riku's POV**

I saw six other people pop out around Ren Judging by his expression, looks like he doesn't know them. Neither did I.

Two were girls and the other four were boys. They were all wearing winter clothes. Not one wasn't wearing a scarf.

They pretty much looked alike except for their heights and the colors of their hair and what they were wearing.

The two girls both had short hair. One was all in blue. The other was all in purple.

Among the boys, one was all in yellow, another in green, one in black and red, and the last was in purple too.

They all walked towards the tower. I ran up to my room, which was on the top floor, and locked the door.

What did they want with me? My hair? No, my hair is just hair there isn't anything weird or precious about it.

What did they want? A few seconds later, I heard a knock on my door.

Oh God, they're fast! They're probably aliens in disguise...

...

WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THAT NOW?

I pulled my bed over the door to block the door. Then, I looked out the window. Ren was still there.

He had his arms outstretched in front of him. "Jump!"

Is he crazy? I'm on the top floor and this tower actually has more than thirty floors!

I've trained myself to get used to climbing up and down this many stairs every single day but now way am I jumping out the window when I'm on the top floor!

But then, I think they're kicking the door already. Shoot, I have to get out NOW.

Just outside my window is something like a hanger thing. I could use my hair like rope. I just hope they don't break. But I'm not that heavy though...

I hung my hair on it, held on tight and jumped out the window. I shut my eyes tightly. Then, I looked a bit down.

Ren was there, about to catch me. "Ah!"

I had a few tears in my eyes. I didn't fall. I didn't even reach the ground. I stopped around the window of the tower's fourth floor.

Someone on the fifth floor grabbed my hair. It was the guy in all yellow. My head hurt. I've never been lifted with my hair before. It hurt so much!

"Hey! What do you want with her?" I heard Ren shout.

He climbed onto the second floor's window. He was carrying something but it was too dark to see what it was.

He grabbed on to the fourth floor's window... and cut my hair off. Not all of it- just enough so I could be free from the guy who caught me with my hair.

Just then, I saw a flash of bright yellow. Then, I realized I started to fall.

I felt someone catch me. I felt some pain. Then, everything darkened to black.


	4. Chapter 4

Rapunzel

Ch. 4 Fainted

**Riku's POV**

"I think she's waking up!"

"Really? Let me see her!"

Everything was blurry. But soon, it started clearing up. I was in a dimly lit room. I saw a brown-haired woman in a simple red dress.

Then, I noticed a bandage wrapped around my head.

"You... okay?" I saw Ren's worried face pop up right in front of me.

"I guess... what happened...?"

"Uh, I cut off your hair. N-not all of it! Then, you fell. I caught you but I was so stupid, I couldn't protect your head. It hit the ground pretty hard and you fainted. Then, I carried you and ran as fast as I could back here."

"Oh. Did I bleed? Did my head bleed?"

"Not really..." I noticed he was trying not to make eye contact.

"But you got hurt and you fainted and it's my fault. Sorry."

"It's okay."

The room was silent for a few minutes.

"I think I'll go get her some water," The woman said.

"O-okay."

Then, the woman left. The room was silent again.

"So... is your hair... uh... normal?"

"Huh?" What does THAT mean?

"N-never mind! I'm sorry if I was being rude."

"No, wait! What do you mean?"

"Well... your hair's kinda..."

Huh? What did he...?

My eyes widened. My hair... it's blonde!


	5. Chapter 5

Rapunzel

Ch. 5 Blonde

**Riku's POV**

"W-what the hell happened to my hair?"

"H-hey! Cool it!"

"No! What's with this?"

"I got you some water," We both stared at the woman in the doorway, holding a glass of water.

"I'll... stay out here..." She slowly closed the door.

"Ren!"

"Hey, listen! When I cut your hair, I saw it turn from teal to blonde. I don't know how or why it happened but all I know is that it just happened as soon as I cut your hair short."

I breathed hard from shouting.

"Why is this... oh no!"

"W-what?"

"Ruka! I have to get to her!"

"No! The guys took her!"

"What? Why didn't you save her?"

"When she saw me, it was when they got her already. She kept screaming at me and telling me that if I ever hurt she'd hunt me down or something. Then, she said something about me working for some guy she probably hated..."

"WHAT GUY?"

"I-I don't know! S-some guy she mentioned named Kaido or something!"

"Kaido? Who the hell is...?" I jumped out of the bed.

"Ah!" My head still hurt.

"Hey, you gotta get more rest."

"No... I have to get to... Ruka..."

"No, you gotta rest..."

"No..."

"If you wanna get to her, rest first. You could faint again."

"Fine..."

A few minutes later, I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Rapunzel

Ch. 6 Hair

*Note: Starting from this chapter, Riku will be color orange.

**Riku's POV**

I woke up again. I wondered where I was then, I remembered last night. I got up from the bed.

Someone came in.

"Huh? Oh, you're awake," It was the brown-haired woman in red again.

"Want some breakfast?"

"She's awake? Reiko! Out of my way!" I heard Ren's voice from outside.

"H-hey!"

"Huh? Riku! A-are you okay? Should you really be standing up?" He turned to the woman. "Should she really be standing up?"

"Hey, I'm okay. Don't worry so much, would you?"

He just kept staring at me with that worried face. Then, he looked away.

"I just... Oh hey, you hungry? There's breakfast outside."

"Huh? Hey, don't trouble yourselves with-"

"N-no, it was my fault that you fainted and stuff. I gotta help you."

I looked at the woman- Reiko. She smiled at me. She took my hand and brought me out of the room.

I saw a green-haired girl with goggles look at me. "Huh? That's the girl Ren's been crushing on?"

"KUMI!"

"Hey, she's so cute! No wonder you like her!"

"Kumi, when the hell did I ever say I liked her?" He said, blushing.

"You didn't have to, dude. Every single sound you hear from the room, you freak out. Every single time Meiko comes into the room, you bust in asking if she's awake already. And you also-"

"Heheh, that's enough," He said, covering her mouth.

"So... breakfast?"

~o~

After breakfast, Reiko noticed my hair was really messy. My hair wasn't used to being short so it was pretty messy. She gave me lots of clips and a headband with a cute bow.

After that, I told them I had to get back to Ruka.

"Huh? But you can't just find her so quickly. They must've taken her away someplace. You won't find her so simply." Ren told me.

"Jeez, Ren. If you're so worried, why don't you just go with her?" Kumi suggested.

"Hmph! I will!"

"Y-you don't have to if you don't want," I said.

"Well, I want to!" He said, going inside.

"Hey, Riku?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Let's go for a walk," She grabbed my hand and took me somewhere.

~o~

On the way, I saw houses get fewer. I guess it was a village. We stopped by a lake.

"So... why'd you take me here?"

"..."

"..."

"I know Kaido."

"Huh? Y-you do?"

"Yup. I worked for him once. He's such a jerk though so I quit."

"Uh..."

"He's after your hair, Riku."

"What? Seriously, what's with my hair, huh?"

"Riku, Ren told you about your hair turning from teal to blonde, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Then you already know how your hair is far from normal."

"Kumi, I don't-"

"Riku, your hair can heal incurable sicknesses and change color. So far, that's pretty much all you can do so far."

"Wha-? S-so far...?"

"This happens every fifty years or so. A baby girl -Rapunzel- is born from a flower in the forest. Whether she gets out of the forest or not, she will somehow live until someone is chosen to take care of her."

"Jeez, I thought Rapunzel was just a story about a girl with exaggerated long hair. But now... THIS?"

"Her hair will have unsual abilities. It'll be able to heal sicknesses and wounds. When it's cut, it'll change color. When it grows back to the exact length it was before it was cut, it'll turn back to the previous color."

"Oh seriously? Powers? This isn't making any sense."

"And believe me, it's just about to get weirder. The color changing is normal. But the healing part must be done on purpose by the Rapunzel girl. And there's another thing it can do."

"What?"

"If she masters the being able to heal part, she can level up with her hair."

"... Hah?"

"You know, for example, she can control her hair or tame super wild animals or something."

"You CANNOT be serious."

"Well, I am."

"But what's the point of the weird hair and stuff anyway?"

"Well, every fifty years, there's supposed to be some kind of danger and stuff and she's supposed to save everyone."

"What?"

"The most unbelievable thing is that it only happens here in this island alone. Not in other countries or in the other islands or anything. Just here."

"Why won't everyone just move then?"

"This island is cursed."

"Oh, what?"

"It's kinda like invisible to anyone who doesn't live here."

"Who the hell would curse some random island?"

She shrugged at me.

"Hey!"

"Look, we don't know who did this or why."

"You don't just... Why would... Aaaaaaauugh!" I got to my knees and covered my face.

"But, there's still a chance, right? You said something about mastering and levelling up and stuff."

She sighed. "If only we met much earlier..."

"What do you mean?"

"If the Rapunzel doesn't use any of her hair's abilities for ten years straight, her hair will lose all the abilities and all the other stuff it can do. Of course, the color changing part is left out."

My eyes widened. "So, everyone here is going to die and we can't do anything about it?"

"Pretty much." She shrugged.

"HOW CAN YOU CALMLY ANSWER ME LIKE THAT?"

"Riku?" I looked at the direction where I heard Ren's voice. He was hiding behind a tree.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sure anyone who read this has seen the Note:**

***Note: Starting from this chapter, Riku will be color orange.**

**Please don't mind it *sweat-drops* It's because I do my stories in Word Document and I put color on the speech of the person depending on who's talking.**

**If you don't understand, I'll use and example.**

**"Riku?" That line, I made it light orange, which is Ren's (Len) color in my Word Document.**

**Riku's color was teal since she looked like Miku when I imagined her. But when she cut her hair, it turned blonde and she looks like Rin now so I made her orange.**

**Gosh, never mind. If you understand what I mean, thanks. If you don't, That's okay. If the website didn't make it all black in color then you'd understand what I mean.**

**For now, ignore that note and please review :3**


	7. Chapter 7

Rapunzel

Ch. 7 Underwater

**Riku's POV**

"I kinda eavesdropped... sorry."

"It's okay. You would've known soon. But now that I think about it, you'd only know for like a few minutes because by then you'd be dead," Kumi said calmly.

"How can you be so calm about this?" He shouted.

"I'm not calm."

"You sure act like you are."

"Yeah. I ACT like I am."

Everyone was silent for a while.

"No, we can still do something. Let's look for the one who cursed this land."

"She is dead."

"Any descendants?"

"None that we know of."

"Ugh."

I looked out at the lake.

"Wait... You said something about someone chosen to come and take the Rapunzel girl. Where's my person?"

She smiled. "Follow me," She instructed. She put on her goggles and dove into the lake.

"Ah! Kumi!"

"Sh-she's crazy!" Len screamed.

She popped her head out. "If you dare, Rapunzel."

"Okay!" I dove into the lake with her.

"You crazy women need supervision!" Ren dove into the lake too.

We started following Kumi. It took a lot of coming back up for air for me and Ren but Kumi seemed used to it.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Actually we're already here." I asked after coming back up for air.

"Huh? There's nothing out here," Ren said.

"Yeah. Out here. We gotta go underwater."

"Oh, seriously?"

"Yup."

We breathed in a lot of air and swam to the bottom.

I looked around. There was nothing there. No fishes. A few plants and rocks maybe. But other than that, there were no living things down there except us.

Then, I felt someone push me. It made me open my mouth. I lost a lot of air. I looked at Kumi who was pulling Ren down to the very bottom.

Before I knew it, I ran out of air.


	8. Chapter 8

Rapunzel

Ch. 8 Haku

**Riku's POV**

"This is her?"

"Yes."

"Who the hell cut her hair?"

"Ren did."

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Oh hey, she's awake."

"Really?"

"Calm down, dude."

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Ren, Kumi and a purple-haired guy in front of me.

"Well, hi!" He greeted.

"Ah!" I sat straight up.

"Kumi, you almost killed me! You made me run out of air!"

"I couldn't let you see the rest of the way."

"If you were gonna take us out of the water anyway then why did you make us swim all that way? And if you wanted to make us faint then-"

"We're still underwater, you know."

I jumped out of bed and went to the nearest window. I saw water everywhere. Then, a shark came to the window.

"Ah!"

"Oh, that's Haku's pet."

"Haku?"

"Coming~!" I heard a voice from outside the room.

"Oh no, I wasn't calling-" Too late.

A silver-haired woman around 26 with red eyes in a black and violet dress came in. She had her hair tied with a black and violet bow that matched her dress. She was holding a beer bottle.

"You need something?"

"Haku, she was just admiring your shark." The purple dude said.

"'Your shark'?"

"Grey!" She came to the window.

"I've been looking for you! I was worried you might have eaten Gaku here since you didn't come for lunch! You idiot shark, where were you? I was really worried..." She turned to me. "Anyway, you're Riku, right? Rapunzel girl?"

"Uh- I- actually I... Yeah I am."

"Heheh! Well, I'm Haku."

"Hi."

"Kumi said she took you to me so I could help you save the island."

"Yes! Just because there isn't any super powerful saviour here doesn't mean we're completely in crisis, right?"

"Well, apparently, what you just said doesn't work that way here. We're all gonna die."

"WHAT? Then why wasn't I taken somewhere where I could recognize myself as some hero person and go through special training and stuff?"

"Someone took you from me."

"Huh?"

She sighed. "I'll tell you a story through flashback, okay?"

"That doesn't make any sense, we can't see flashba-" Kumi covered my mouth.

"We'll need all the info we can get."


	9. Chapter 9

Rapunzel

Ch. 9 Haku's Flashback

**Haku's POV**

~Flashback: 7 Years and 3 Days Earlier~

"Why me?" I asked.

"You were chosen. You cannot change the decision."

"I'm 19..."

"Your point?"

"Oh, seriously?"

The elders told me I was going to take care of the next Rapunzel who was actually born already 7 years earlier.

Three days later, I went to the forest to look for her.

They said I would find the next Rapunzel, who would most likely turn 7 that day, somewhere where there were a lot of leeks and oranges and bananas. I only knew one part of the forest that was like that.

I found the girl. But someone found her earlier than me. A girl around 13 years old with short pink hair.

"Who would leave you out here all by yourself? I'll take good care of you and you'll be my little sister..."

I followed her to a house. I explained everything to the pink-haired girl. Her name was Ruka.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that. I'll give her back to you I guess..."

But before she got a chance to, some people in different colored winter clothes came in and tried to take her.

"You can't have her!"

"We didn't ask you to hand her over. We demanded you give her to us." One of them said.

"NO!" We chased each other all over the house. On the way, we heard them say they worked for some guy named Kaio.

Ruka and I hid in a closet with the girl.

She gave me Rapunzel –Ruka hasn't named her yet- but I told her they probably knew I was the chosen one to take Rapunzel and they must have tracked me down.

"She'll be safer with you."

"Okay. Then take this," She gave me a doll that was just about Rapunzel's size. We got some blue yarn and hurriedly tried to make her look like her.

I ran out of the room with the doll. They thought I had the real one. They chased me deep in the forest.

When they found out I didn't have the real one, they went back to Ruka but she had already escaped.

~Flashback End~

**Riku's POV**

"A lot happened after that. I met Gakupo, told him the story and he said he knew how I could escape in case they'd find me again. He took me to this underwater lair thing and I've lived here ever since," Haku told everyone.

"I was 7? Why didn't I remember any of that? And different colored winter clothes?"

"Those people that tried to take Riku yesterday must be sons and daughters of the people in the story or something." Ren said.

"But you told me Ruka said 'Kaido', not 'Kaio'."

"Kaio is Kaido's dad," Kumi told me.

"Okay... Guys, I think we should go look for this Kaido guy."

"Riku, he's dangerous. He only wants your hair and its powers. If he saw you and you still had your long hair, he would probably spare your life. But now that it's like this..." She looked at Ren.

"I'm sorry..." He apologised.

"Don't be. You just wanted to save me. If you didn't cut my hair, I might be with them and I won't meet Reiko, Kumi, Gakupo and Haku."

He smiled. "Okay..."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"I don't know about you guys but Grey is still hungry. I'm gonna go feed him."

"So that's it? You're not gonna try anything?"

"Maybe later."

"Now!"

"Now."

"Later."

"Hah, fell for it."

"... Fine. We'll go do something but just not now. But we WILL do something."


	10. Chapter 10

Rapunzel

Ch. 10 Plan

**Riku's POV**

~o~

"It's later already. Can we go do something already?"

"Okay, let's make a plan. I'm thinking we just barge in with grey." Haku suggested in a straight face.

"Are you serious?" I asked, confused.

"Yes."

"Nah, that's not gonna work." Gakupo said. "Haku, be serious about this."

"I am."

"Oh, hey, I just remembered Reiko asked me to help her with something today. I better go," Kumi said.

"How are we gonna get home?" Len asked.

"Gakupo, help them get home, okay?"

"Sure."

Kumi left the room. A few seconds later, I saw her swimming out the window. I don't know how she got out.

"Okay, let's seriously think of a plan."

"Why don't we just knock on their door and ask if we can talk to him?" Haku asked.

"Uh, right. Well, I don't think he'll be willing to negotiate..."

~o~

**Kumi's POV**

I got myself out of the water.

"Jeez, it's such a pain to dry my clothes like this..."

"Hey, Kumi."

I gasped. I looked around. I didn't see anyone.

"Kaigo?" Kaigo is Kaido's sister.

"Yup." I heard her voice behind me.

Everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

Rapunzel

Ch. 11 Captured

**Kumi's POV**

I gained consciousness. I was blindfolded and my hands were tied behind my back. I felt I was on something cold and hard, like metal. Probably a cage.

I heard voices.

"Well, that didn't take long."

"Yeah?"

They were Kaido and Kaigo's voices.

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"Information."

"I'm not talking."

"You're talking right now."

"Humph. So?"

"So, where is she?"

"'She'? Could you be more specific?"

"You know who I'm talking about!"

"Yeah, I do."

"So tell me!"

"I don't feel like it..."

"Maybe you'll feel more like it when you realize your situation. Someone take off her blindfold!"

I felt something remove my blindfold and saw where I was.

I was in a cage in a pit full of lions and tigers and right beside me was a body of water. Two sharks jumped around, trying to get me.

"Oh, how cute. Are those your pet sharks? Haku's is bigger!" It was true. Haku's shark was way bigger than those two.

"Well, Haku's shark isn't here is it?"

"Got a point..."

"So? Where is she?"

"Rapunzel? I... don't know..."

"If you don't tell, you're not the only one who's going to die." He took out Ruka, her hands tied. He got a gun and aimed it right for her head.

"Ruka!"

"Don't tell him, Kumi! I can handle this!"

"But..."

"DON'T!"

"You really wanna die, don't you?" Kaido said.

"If it's to protect Riku, then yeah! I guess I do!"

"Wait... Riku? You gave her a name?" He asked in disbelief.

"Anything wrong with that?"

"Whatever," He turned to me. "So? You telling me or not?"

"I..."

"She isn't," Ruka said.

"I didn't ask you!"

"Kumi. Please don't."

"But...!"

"Shut up!" He turned to Kaigo. "Chloroform her!"

"Got it."

Ruka struggled to get away from Kaigo but she was chloroformed anyway.

"Tell me!"

"I..."


	12. Chapter 12

Rapunzel

Ch. 12 Sacred Mirror

**Riku's POV**

"Ugh, we're not getting anywhere!"

"I hate making plans! It's so frustrating!" Ren shouted.

"NO!" We heard Haku's scream from the other room.

We all ran inside. We saw Haku near a big fountain-pool thing.

"What's going on?"

"Kumi's been captured!"

"Huh? How would you know that?"

"This is my Sacred Mirror," Her eyes gleamed.

I hit her on the head. "Be serious, woman."

"No, no! I AM serious! Look!"

I didn't see anything in the water. I hit her on the head again.

"Would you stop doing that!"

"Haku, it's not even a mirror! It's a big pool thingy!" Ren pointed out.

"Idiots, don't look into the water. Just look at it."

I looked at it. "I'm not getting-"

"Just keep looking!"

I looked hard. After a few seconds, I saw some motion but it wasn't very clear. When it cleared up, I saw it.

It was Kumi. She was in a cage and lions, tigers and sharks were trying to get her.

"I'm not telling you! Find out on your own!" She said.

"Just tell me. You don't have to make it this hard!" I heard a guy's voice say.

"Yeah I do! Because I'm against you! You know that! Sheesh!"

"Kumi?" I said.

"It lets us see people that are far away. It's kinda like a phone except we can't talk to each other."

"We've got to rescue her!"

"No, it's too dangerous. We need to make a plan fast."

"That's it, I'm pulling the trigger!" I heard from the mirror.

"No! Don't!"

"Is he going to shoot Kumi?" I looked back at the mirror.

No.

He was holding Ruka and she was unconscious. He had a gun pointed at her.

I left the room.

"Where are you going?" Ren asked me. I didn't answer.

I didn't know what I was going to do. I just walked out, thinking of a way to find them.

"Riku! Wait! We need a plan first! Besides! They won't just let you in!" She said.

"I think I got one!" I heard Ren say.


	13. Chapter 13

Rapunzel

Ch. 13 Cave

**Riku's POV**

I looked back at him. "Got a plan?" I asked.

"I think. Look, I see an entrance."

"You have got to be kidding me. I can't see any entrances or exits." I said.

"No, look! I've seen something like that place before!"

"Huh? Where?"

"In a dream." We all looked at him. Haku hit him on the head.

"That's not very helpful."

"No! I know it sounds weird but I remember in a dream where Kumi and I were just kids and we were alone at the beach-"

"Ooooh..." Haku and I said while looking at him suspiciously.

"Well!" Gakupo said, smiling.

"NO! Whatever, it was a dream, I was in the beach with Kumi then she took me somewhere." I saw him blush. A lot.

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"B-be serious!"

"Fine!" I said, smiling.

"She took me somewhere in the forest and made me go through a cave. At the end of the cave, there was a dead end and a torch. She put it out and after that, I saw a light and then an entrance that lead to something that looked like that place you see in the fountain appeared. When we went inside, the entrance was gone. The end."

"So, you think there might be something like that because you saw it in a dream?"

"Yup."

"You could be wrong."

"Or not." Gakupo said.

"It's worth a try. He didn't say anything dangerous was in the cave, right?"

~o~

Ren's POV

"AH!" I heard Riku shout.

"W-what?"

"R-roach!"

"What?"

"I'm scared of roaches!"

"Ugh, you're such a kid. Am I right, Haku?"

"H-huh? Uh, y-yeah!"

I sighed.

"Jeez, you guys. Oh, hey! Stop it! I'm ticklish!"

"I'm not touching you!" Riku said.

"N-neither am I!"

"Oh God, why?" I brushed off the roach on my shoulder and we all ran out of the cave.

We found Gakupo waiting outside. "Oh, hey guys."

"Wha-? Didn't you come in with us?"

"When I heard Riku scream 'roach', I got out."

"WHAT?"

"Y-you didn't say anything dangerous was in the cave!" Riku reminded me.

"Cockroaches are NOT dangerous!"

"Yeah, they're not. They're gross!" Haku said.

"What do we do now?"

Around 30 minutes earlier, I tried to follow the same path I saw in my dream.

But when we got inside, cockroaches started 'attacking' us.

"How are we supposed to get in? Ren, was there anything else you saw in your dream?"

"No..."

"Did you hear anything in your dream? Or feel?"

"Well, I heard her say something about illusions and caves and butterflies or something."

"Illusions and caves and butterflies...?"

"Hm, maybe, this cave is just an illusion or something because Ren just saw it in a dream, right?"

"Hmm... Hey, I heard a legend about something like that!" Gakupo said.

"I'm not sure if it's a true story but maybe it would help. Two friends- a girl and a boy were playing in the forest when they saw a cave like this. Out of curiosity, they went inside thinking they might find something. Then, they were attacked by roaches."

"Ew..." Jeez, Riku's like a child.

"The boy, not thinking of himself, tried to help the girl who, he knew was terrified of the little creatures. Then, he felt something bite him."

"Cockroaches don't bite! Do they?" Haku asked.

"It might have been something else because it was poisonous. He felt the poison go all over his body. With his last bit of strength, he got the girl out of the cave in case what bit him would bite her too."

"Wow." I said.

"His love for his best friend made the cave light up and the cockroaches all turned into butterflies that healed him and let them pass."

"Woah! They turned into butterflies? Maybe this cave is the Cave of Illusion!"

"Cave of Illusion? Where'd you get that name?"

"I've never heard of that name. I made it up but maybe it's the name of the cave? He said the cockroaches were illusions and were actually butterflies!"

"Oh yeah!"

"So what? We use the power of love to make them reveal their true selves?" Haku suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Riku said.

"I was being sarcastic..."


	14. Chapter 14

Rapunzel

Ch. 14 Roaches

**Riku's POV**

It's taking us so long to make a plan to get through the cave...

"Jeez, should we put someone's life on the line and save the person just so we can get through this cave?" Ren asked.

"No..." Gakupo replied.

"So, what will we do? Does it have to necessarily be love? The story is more of their great friendship than actual love, don't you think?" Haku pointed out.

"Yeah..." Everyone else replied.

"Well, Haku doesn't exactly care so much about me even if we're friends like this..." Gakupo said.

"And she just met you guys... and Ren and Riku just met each other too, right?"

"Sort of..." I said.

"But he really did care about me. Like when he saved me from those winter guys? And before we really met in person, we just sent each other letters in paper planes." I said.

"Yeah..."

"Did you write anything that indicated great friendship or something in any of your letters?" Haku asked.

"Hm... well, there's one but it's not exactly like what you're saying..."

"What was it?"

"Oh no! Riku, don't tell them! I was just joking! Really!"

"He asked me if I was single."

...

Gakupo put a hand on Ren's shoulder.

"Good job."

"I was just joking!"

"Dude, you don't joke your way with a woman."

"WOMAN?" I shouted.

"Guys, we're thinking of a way to get past this cave here!" Haku reminded us.

"Maybe we don't NEED to experience lives on the line or even love. If those cockroaches are really butterflies, we just gotta keep that in mind and not care about them and just go through the cave." Ren suggested.

That's a pretty good idea actually. If only I wasn't so freaked by roaches...

"Okay, I'm with Ren! Let's try it!"

"Ah, I have eggplant pie in the oven. It could blow up or set the place on fire. Let's go, Haku." Gakupo said. That coward...

They left us alone.

"You still wanna try?"

"Y-yeah!"

We went to the opening of the cave. I didn't see any roaches so far. We went deeper into the cave.

I saw the cockroaches come around. I swallowed hard.

"R-Ren..."

"If you change your mind, we can go back outside."

Tears started to form in my eyes when I saw a few get closer. No. I'm not a kid. I blinked the tears away.

"No, I'm making such a fuss over roaches that I make them look like scorpions. I can do this."

We walked deeper into the cave. Soon, I got used to the roaches.

"Huh, they're pretty harmless..."

"You see?"

"But what about the one that went to your shoulder? How did it get there without you feeling it?"

All of a sudden, a bunch of roaches started flying.

"Holy God, they fly! RUN!"

We started running. The light from outside disappeared. We had no idea where we were going now.

We hit a dead end. A torch lit up on its own.

"W-what do we do? Th-they're just roaches right?" I asked, panicked.

"I don't know!"

"This is horrible! This is...!"

"What? E-Even you said they were just roaches!"

"Yeah but now you're panicking too!"

Just then, I felt something bite me. I couldn't move and I fell to the floor.

"R-Riku? Are you okay?"

_Ren..._

I couldn't answer him.

I felt something bite me again.

"Ah!"

Then, two more.

"Riku! What's going on?"

I felt poison spread in my body.

**Ren's POV**

No... Riku!

"Riku, what's-?" I stopped as I saw unfamiliar bite marks on her body- four of them. I couldn't tell what animal they were from.

I didn't have anything to heal her and there was nothing else in the cave besides those flying roaches and that torch.

I looked around for any other animal that might have bitten her.

"R-Ren..."

"Huh?"

"G-get out..."

"I'm taking you with me!" I said as I started to lift her off the ground.

"I'll only... slow you down... Get out now..."

"No." I started carrying her out the cave.

"Idiot... something poisonous bit me..."

"Exactly why I gotta take you with me. I can still get you home to heal you..."

Now, the roaches are starting to make sounds. It's like they've turned into cicadas...

"Oh, shut up. My friend's poisoned and you guys aren't helping at all turning into cicadas!"

I started to run out of the cave, carrying Riku in my arms. She's not so heavy.

For some reason, the roaches were still following me. They stopped in front of me.

"Oh, what?" Were they trying to block the exit? Jerk roaches...

Wait...

They were carrying a flower. It was a weird flower. Actually, it didn't look like a flower. It looked like an orange leek! Ew...

They dropped it near my feet. I picked it up. Was this an antidote?

The roaches stopped flying and made way for me. Wow. Roach teamwork. Just wow.

I was about to continue out of the cave when I felt something bite me. I dropped Riku and fell to the ground.

I was still holding the orange leek antidote. Whatever bit Riku bit me too.


	15. Chapter 15

Rapunzel

Ch. 14 Roaches

**Riku's POV**

It's taking us so long to make a plan to get through the cave...

"Jeez, should we put someone's life on the line and save the person just so we can get through this cave?" Ren asked.

"No..." Gakupo replied.

"So, what will we do? Does it have to necessarily be love? The story is more of their great friendship than actual love, don't you think?" Haku pointed out.

"Yeah..." Everyone else replied.

"Well, Haku doesn't exactly care so much about me even if we're friends like this..." Gakupo said.

"And she just met you guys... and Ren and Riku just met each other too, right?"

"Sort of..." I said.

"But he really did care about me. Like when he saved me from those winter guys? And before we really met in person, we just sent each other letters in paper planes." I said.

"Yeah..."

"Did you write anything that indicated great friendship or something in any of your letters?" Haku asked.

"Hm... well, there's one but it's not exactly like what you're saying..."

"What was it?"

"Oh no! Riku, don't tell them! I was just joking! Really!"

"He asked me if I was single."

...

Gakupo put a hand on Ren's shoulder.

"Good job."

"I was just joking!"

"Dude, you don't joke your way with a woman."

"WOMAN?" I shouted.

"Guys, we're thinking of a way to get past this cave here!" Haku reminded us.

"Maybe we don't NEED to experience lives on the line or even love. If those cockroaches are really butterflies, we just gotta keep that in mind and not care about them and just go through the cave." Ren suggested.

That's a pretty good idea actually. If only I wasn't so freaked by roaches...

"Okay, I'm with Ren! Let's try it!"

"Ah, I have eggplant pie in the oven. It could blow up or set the place on fire. Let's go, Haku." Gakupo said. That coward...

They left us alone.

"You still wanna try?"

"Y-yeah!"

We went to the opening of the cave. I didn't see any roaches so far. We went deeper into the cave.

I saw the cockroaches come around. I swallowed hard.

"R-Ren..."

"If you change your mind, we can go back outside."

Tears started to form in my eyes when I saw a few get closer. No. I'm not a kid. I blinked the tears away.

"No, I'm making such a fuss over roaches that I make them look like scorpions. I can do this."

We walked deeper into the cave. Soon, I got used to the roaches.

"Huh, they're pretty harmless..."

"You see?"

"But what about the one that went to your shoulder? How did it get there without you feeling it?"

All of a sudden, a bunch of roaches started flying.

"Holy God, they fly! RUN!"

We started running. The light from outside disappeared. We had no idea where we were going now.

We hit a dead end. A torch lit up on its own.

"W-what do we do? Th-they're just roaches right?" I asked, panicked.

"I don't know!"

"This is horrible! This is...!"

"What? E-Even you said they were just roaches!"

"Yeah but now you're panicking too!"

Just then, I felt something bite me. I couldn't move and I fell to the floor.

"R-Riku? Are you okay?"

_Ren..._

I couldn't answer him.

I felt something bite me again.

"Ah!"

Then, two more.

"Riku! What's going on?"

I felt poison spread in my body.

**Ren's POV**

No... Riku!

"Riku, what's-?" I stopped as I saw unfamiliar bite marks on her body- four of them. I couldn't tell what animal they were from.

I didn't have anything to heal her and there was nothing else in the cave besides those flying roaches and that torch.

I looked around for any other animal that might have bitten her.

"R-Ren..."

"Huh?"

"G-get out..."

"I'm taking you with me!" I said as I started to lift her off the ground.

"I'll only... slow you down... Get out now..."

"No." I started carrying her out the cave.

"Idiot... something poisonous bit me..."

"Exactly why I gotta take you with me. I can still get you home to heal you..."

Now, the roaches are starting to make sounds. It's like they've turned into cicadas...

"Oh, shut up. My friend's poisoned and you guys aren't helping at all turning into cicadas!"

I started to run out of the cave, carrying Riku in my arms. She's not so heavy.

For some reason, the roaches were still following me. They stopped in front of me.

"Oh, what?" Were they trying to block the exit? Jerk roaches...

Wait...

They were carrying a flower. It was a weird flower. Actually, it didn't look like a flower. It looked like an orange leek! Ew...

They dropped it near my feet. I picked it up. Was this an antidote?

The roaches stopped flying and made way for me. Wow. Roach teamwork. Just wow.

I was about to continue out of the cave when I felt something bite me. I dropped Riku and fell to the ground.

I was still holding the orange leek antidote. Whatever bit Riku bit me too.


	16. Chapter 16

Rapunzel

Ch. 16 Caught

**Kumi's POV**

"Seriously! Why won't you just tell me?! I've got you and your friend's life on the line! What more do you want?!" Kaido complained.

"Hmm..." I jokingly said as if I were actually thinking about it.

A few minutes ago, he got someone to take me out of the cage and I got one of the tigers bite the rope off my hands. Then, I made them and the lions sleep. How I did that is a secret.

For the long time that I've been working for him, I've undergone special training and drills in case I was in danger. Kaido thought I was going to be a great worker for him so he told me a lot of secrets and stuff.

Kaido taught me way too much without thinking about it so I was sure that even if he would try to kill me when I betrayed him, I knew what to do.

"Kumi," I heard Kaigo say.

"Hm?"

"Just tell us. Come on, I used to be your friend."

I gritted my teeth. "Yeah, you USED to be my friend!"

Kaido being a jerk was just one of the two reasons why I betrayed him...

"Come on, we were best friends."

"No. We were never friends!"

"Kumi-"

"Shut up! I'm not telling any of you guys anything!"

She sighed, still keeping a straight face.

All of a sudden, I heard the secret doors in the cave open. There was dust flying everywhere.

Thinking that Kaido and his sister were too distracted to try to kill me right now, I climbed out of the pit to take a look.

"Huh? What's happening?!" I heard Kaido shout through the noise of the opening door.

I showed that place to Ren once but I'm not sure if he remembers it. It's a backup entrance this place used to have a long time ago that not even Kaido nor his sister knows about until now.

I, on the other hand, found out about it on my own.

"Jeez! I thought this was supposed to be a SECRET entrance! Why is it so LOUD?!" I heard someone familiar say through the noise.

"Riku?!" I shouted.

When the dust cleared, I saw Riku and Ren at the entrance, coughing hard.

"K-Kumi?!" Riku said nervously when she saw me.

"Riku! Don't come in here!"

"Riku? _This_ is her? Who the hell cut her hair?!" Kaido asked in disbelief.

"You shut your mouth!" I shouted before turning to Riku. "You guys have to get out of here!"

Riku gasped as her eyes landed on Ruka. "R-Ruka! Kaido! You put her down right now!"

"Who's gonna make me?!" He replied and Kaigo and all the other workers pointed guns at them.

~o~

"Maybe we should've brought a few weapons with us..." Riku thought out loud.

"Yeah..." Ren and I agreed.

Right now, the three of us are in a small cage, waiting for Kaido's next move.


	17. Chapter 17

Rapunzel

Ch. 17 Between You Two

**Kaigo's POV**

I watched close as my brother slowly circled the cage where Kumi, that Rapunzel girl and that blonde shota sat together, wondering what Kaido was going to do next. I didn't know either. I just watched closely.

"So... your hair was cut, Rapunzel?" He asked the Rapunzel girl.

"Uhm, I have a name actually..." she replied.

"Yeah, yeah, not interested."

"Oh, uh, r-right..."

"So, I need to ask you something; what can your hair do?" He asked, honestly curious.

"You wanna know?" Kumi asked.

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't want to! Of course I wanna know!"

"Oh do you?" She asked. "We're not interested in telling you."

I accidentally giggled. It wasn't funny, really. So why did I HAVE to do that?

"Kaigo, you shut up!"

"I-I didn't say anything!"

"You giggled!"

"S-So?"

He stared at me while I nervously stared back. Then, his face lit up.

"I have an idea!" He suddenly shouted and grabbed my hand. Then, he pulled me to the Snake Pit and put me at the edge.

"H-Hey! What's going on?!" I screamed. I didn't know what was happening.

"Kumi! Kaigo is your friend! If you don't give me information about Rapunzel's hair, I'll push her into the Snake Pit!"

"WHAT?!" I screamed. I heard Kumi gasp. I turned to her and she looked away.

"F-Fine..." She said.

"'Fine' you'll tell me?"

Kumi turned to Kaido and shouted, "'Fine' throw her in! I don't care!" My eyes widened in shock. I can't believe her...

"K-Kumi! W-Why...?" I asked weakly. I saw anger fill her face.

"DON'T PRETEND YOU CAN'T REMEMBER!" She screamed. I saw small tears form in her eyes.

"What the heck is it between you two? What happened? Seriously, Riku and I are left out!" the blonde shota stated.

"So am I, actually," Kaido said.

"Fine! I'll tell you through flashback!" Kumi told them.


	18. Chapter 18

Rapunzel

Ch. 18 Flashback

~Flashback: Just A Year Ago~

**Kumi's POV**

I wandered around aimlessly in the woods. All of a sudden, a girl around my age with short blue hair wearing blue winter clothes comes out of nowhere.

"Uhm... it's still May, you know?" I say to her.

"Grraaagh!" She screams and comes for me.

"J-Just saying!"

I evade her attack but she was fast. Evading wasn't enough.

"What the heck?! What's wrong with you?! What do you want?!" I shout. She just ignores me and continues trying to hit me.

Somehow, she managed to corner me by a dead end. It was a cliff. No, I wasn't on top of the cliff. It was like that big wall-like thing under the cliff. Whatever, you might get me.

She took out a knife from somewhere.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" I screamed. "What the heck is your problem?! Who are you and what do you want?!"

She started coming for me and, somehow, I jumped off the ground and landed on her shoulders. "What the heck did I just do...?"

From up there I saw her eyes widen. She scratched my leg with the knife. "OW! Alright, that's it!"

I grabbed the knife from her and jumped off her shoulders behind her. She turned around and got yet another knife out of nowhere. I started to attack but she attacked at the same time. It ended up being a swordfight- with knives.

She somehow got the knife away from me and I put my hands in the air to surrender. Then, I stared at somewhere behind her just to distract her. She looked that way and I grabbed the knife from her and pointed it her way. She held her hands up in defeat.

But to my surprise...

"Kaido, am I done here already?" She asked, looking at a tree. A man in similar clothing and hair color as her came out from behind the tree.

"Geez, way to blow my cover! I was hoping to slow clap while slowly coming out from my hiding place to make the atmosphere more epic but nooo...!" He said. I sweat-dropped.

"Uhm, who exactly are you guys?" I asked, confused.

"I'm Kaido, that's Kaigo, my little sister."

"Right, and, mind telling me why she just tried to kill me?"

"Procedure," She said.

"What?"

"Procedure. Yesterday, I saw you here, training. You're an okay fighter."

"Wha-?! H-How'd you know?! I mean, what are you? A stalker?"

"A what?" She doesn't even know what a stalker is... "I just came by here yesterday and I saw you training. What were you training for, by the way?"

"Ah, nothing. I'm just interested in fighting. Yeah, I know I'm weird but..."

"Cool," She said with a smile. "Me too."

"Okay, okay, girls," Kaido said. "Kaigo, you said she could be good enough, right? And judging by my observance..."

"Wait, good enough for what? You forgot to continue about thing 'Procedure' thing," I said, confused.

"Well, when we hire new recruits," Kaigo started. "Kaido sends me out to challenge them in a fight while he observes so we'll get his opinion too."

"Why didn't you just ask me to fight you then?"

"What?!" They asked at the same time.

"Who DOES that?! If it's gonna be a serious fight, you don't just walk in the scene and go, 'Hey, wanna fight me?' or 'Hey, let's fight!' or 'Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy but we're here to test you so fight me maybe!'" Kaigo said.

I blinked.

"You need them fighting seriously, like their life depends on it especially since it does." She said, looking at the knife in my hand. "Some just get weirded out by your question and awkwardly walk away."

"R-Right... Good point..." I said awkwardly.

"Well, we want you in our organization," Kaido said.

"In your... what? O-Organization of what? A-Assassinating people?! N-No thanks!"

"No, we're looking for an ancient treasure thingy, you know, like in video games."

I tilted my head, confused. "Video... game? What's a-"

"While he was alive, our dad invented this thing that lets us see what's going on in the nearest civilized places out of the barrier of this island. We can't explain what a video game is now but we'll just tell you what you need to know so far."

"Uhm, okay, I'm listening."

"We're looking for the magical hair of Rapunzel!"

I sweat-dropped. "S-Seriously...? Pffft...! Ahahahahaha!" I can't control it...! It's way too much!

"This is no laughing matter," Kaigo said. "Alright, we gotta tell you the legend first..."

"Oh, ah, no. No thank you. I mean, this is gonna be a long story isn't-"

Kaigo lowered me to the ground with my shoulders. "You might wanna sit down."

I sweat-dropped.

~o~

I blinked.

Seriously?! I mean all this while I thought Rapunzel was just some cheesy love story about a girl with abnormally long hair and a prince or something!

I sighed. "Well, you guys seem really serious so..."

"So will you join us?" Kaigo asked.

"Uhm, sure?"

She looked at Kaido. He was completely silent but his expression completely wrote 'YES! YEESSS! AAAAWW YEEAAAHH!' excitedly all over his face.

~Flashback Currently Being Interrupted~

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...!" Ren interrupted. "Okay, we asked what happened to you guys that made Kumi hold such a grudge but you're just telling us how you met. I mean-!"

"SILENCE!" I shouted angrily while pointing at him. "I'M STILL TALKING!"

"O-Okay...!"

~Back to Flashback~

A couple of months later, I was walking back to the hideout. I'm just about to enter when I hear voices. Kaido and Kaigo's.

"That's all. It's really easy," Kaido said.

"It... It'll hurt her..."

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so'?! She's my friend!"

"Pffft...! You actually believe that?! Ahahaha!"

"W-What...?"

"She's just another minion. What's the difference between her and everyone else?!" I heard a slapping sound and then it got real quiet. That was until Kaido spoke up again. "Hey, you improved! I mean, I thought all you could do was punch!"

"I'm better at punching! Want me to show you?! I see a punching bag right in front of me...!"

"Hahahahah! But seriously, come on. I mean, she's just-"

"No she's not! Kumi's different! She actually acts like she has a mind of her own! Unlike everyone else, she's not afraid to express herself or complain about the tasks you give her or- or anything!"

They're... talking about me?

I heard them argue a little longer and just ran away. I'm not going to let them know I heard them talk about me.

Even if I did, what'd be the difference? Kaigo... She's still kill my mother. She was born a killer.

~Flashback End~

**Riku's POV**

No way. Kumi's mom was killed? By Kaigo? But why the fudge?!

"She was even my only guardian," Kumi said, almost unnoticeable tears in her eyes. She wiped them away and looked up at Ren. "I don't know where I'd be, though, if Miss Reiko never found me."

Ren had a concerned expression. So Reiko sort of saved her life.

"Anyway," She said. "Go on. Throw her in. I don't care."

"K-Kumi! No!" Kaigo shouted. "Kumi, please! Listen to-"

"I have nothing and no one to listen to," Kumi said, facing the other way.

I watched as Kaido shrugged and prepared to throw her in.

* * *

**A/N: Oh my Glooob! What's gonna happen to Kaigo?!**

**It's been a really long time since I updated but here it is! Chapter 18! :D**

**Reviews will keep stories alive! I was almost going to just delete this story from my account until I saw random new reviews!**

**So please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

Rapunzel

Ch. 19 We're Bringing This in Court!

**Ren's POV**

I stared at the situation, confused. Yes, I perfectly knew what the situation was so I'm not confused about THAT- Kumi, Riku and I are in a cage, Kaido's going to throw Kaigo in a snake pit if Kumi and Riku don't say anything about her hair and Kumi's positively letting him just throw Kaigo in.

I bite my lower lip. I feel a bead of sweat drop from my chin, I'm sweating a lot. I feel my right hand twitch.

"W-WAIT!"

Everyone stops moving. Where did... hey. That came from... ME! Huh. Wait. Wait, what?! Why the heck would I...?! I don't have anything to say! Dang it, instincts! Know the time to act up, will ya?!

"N-Never mind... I'm sorry..." I mentally slap myself at realizing just about how stupid what I just said was. "I-I mean no! NOT 'never mind'!"

"Dude! Make up your mind! My friggin' life's in stake here!" Kaigo shouted for, I'm guessing, either two reasons- One, she's really mad or two, she's so far away she has to shout for me to hear. Probably both.

"I-I'm sorry, okay?!" I sighed and took in a deep breath. Alright, instincts, you only act up when it's REAL important so... okay, what is it I wanted to say. There has to be something...! "Kumi," I started.

"Hmph." She puffed up her cheeks and looked even farther away from Kaigo. "What?"

"I'm guessing you might have been Kaigo's first friend-"

"You were!" Kaigo shouted to Kumi, struggling from Kaido.

"Well, if a literally back-stabbing betrayer who kills her 'friend's' mother is your idea of a friend then, yeah, I guess I was. So?"

"She must've really, REALLY cared for you and wouldn't want you to be taken away. There HAS to be a good reason why she killed your mom."

"Wait a minute," She said, unfolding her arms. She stood up, went over to me, put her hands on her hips and lean over. "Why are you taking HER side?"

I gulped. She's scary when she gets like this...!

All of a sudden, all my lost confidence and even more came to me and I looked at her straight in the eyes, suddenly getting determined.

"I'm not taking sides. I'm on my own side. I just think that," I looked at Kaigo. "True friends would really care and she's gotta have a good reason so why don't you just let her expl-"

"But she's NOT a true friend!" She grabbed me by my shirt and I saw tears start to form in her eyes. "She killed me mom, Ren!" I felt her hand lose its grip but she still held my shirt. She looked down and I couldn't see her face. "And I'll NEVER forgive her..." She whispered.

"No, Kumi! Please, listen to me...!" Kaigo pleads.

"NO!"

I made a confused face. One, I was acting weird all of a sudden and I had no idea why. Two, this is just becoming drama. But anyway...!

"Well..." I said, somehow starting to get determined to continue. "There's more than one side of the story. Kaido?"

"Huh? What?" He said.

"You can't throw her in until we settle this."

"Ren, quit it," Kumi said. "This is NOT your business."

"Actually, yes, it is," I said. I stood up and she let go of my shirt and slowly backed off a bit. "Because you're my friend."

She stared at me. She starts blushing a bit but doesn't change expression. Maybe she's not aware of her blushing.

Wait. I have just now realized how weirdly cheesy what I just said was. But who cares?!

"Guys, we're gonna settle this, and we're gonna settle it RIGHT!" I said, forcing back this proud smile I might have never done before.

"Ooh, so Ren's a lawyer now...?" Riku says. "Wait... Kaido-judge, Kaigo-defendant, Ren-defense, Kumi-victim... What am **I**?! ... Okay, I'll be the jury!"

"Wait, why don't **I** have a lawyer?!" Kumi asked.

"Whatever! I'm BOTH your lawyers! That is NOT our problem now!"

"But it's not fair! And it doesn't make any sense!"

"Whatever!" Kaido shouted. "Rapun- I mean Riku just made that up. We don't SERIOUSLY need to be any of those!"

"And we don't SERIOUSLY need to talk about this right now!" I shouted back, whether he was defending someone or not.

"Sorry," Riku said.

"It's alright," I said. "Now look, why don't you just tell us your side of what happened, Kaigo?"

"Thank you." She took a deep breath and prepared to show a flashback.


	20. Chapter 20

Rapunzel

Ch. 20 Boy, That Escalated Quickly

**Kaigo's POV**

~Flashback: A Year Ago~

"NO!" I shout, turning away from him. Who does he think he IS?! My brother. But what? My brother? Who can just boss me around thinking I'll do anything he'd tell me to?

He should be the opposite of how he's acting right now, in fact! But he doesn't even try to get my opinion. He doesn't even think about trying to get my opinions in fact. He just waltzes right into it and does whatever he wants. And... why the heck do I even let him?

"Come on, hey-"

"NO! THAT is my final answer. Alright?!"

He thinks he can just waltz in here all 'Hey, baby sister!' and be all casual about it?! This is more than what he thinks!

"No. Not 'alright'. Come on, sis."

That. Just pissed me.

I turn around sharp, walk over to him, grab him by the collar and pull him down. Since he's taller than me.

"DON'T... Call me that," I say, making the most horrifying and creepy death glare I can make.

I let go of his collar and go to the other side of my bed. I sit down and cross my arms, not looking at him, obviously.

"At least consider it."

I growl. What the heck?!

"At least consider MY opinion on this! Or my feelings toward it! Kumi's my friend! Why in the heck would I ever do that to her?!"

"'Cause you're my sister?"

I sigh. "Was that a question?" I stand up and face him, not moving from my spot, though. "Kaido, I'm your sister. I'm... I'm more than that- I'm your only family left. Don't... Don't I matter to you...?"

Dang it. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. I walk out of the room, crossing my hands, trying to blink the tears away.

I can't believe I just said that. Well. Too late now. I've turned the conversation's topic from betraying friends to being betrayed by family. Really, Kaigo?

"Kaigo," I hear him say as he follows up behind me. "Kaigo, of course you matter to me. It's just... I dunno-"

"Just WHAT? Just what? And what is it you don't know?" I say, not really trying to lead to something but whatever. I run down the stairs but I hear him not so far behind.

"Look. I'm sorry. I should've thought a little more on it."

That all? We're in the lab now. It's not really a lab it's more of a big place made of metal where we keep weapons and inventions and junk and also where we make a bunch of experiments and stuff so still just a little lab.

"Sure, sure..."

"Kaigo... Kaigo, come on."

"Look, whatever man, set things right, say sorry, cancel the main plan so we can live in freakin' peace- I don't care! Just... I'm not doing it." I turn around quickly and point my finger at him. "And you're not getting anyone else to do it. I'm not doing it, none of the men's not doing it, you're not doing it."

I turn back and continue walking aimlessly.

"I-"

I turn back around. "AND YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT BEING TO DO IT." I turn back again.

I hear him chuckle. "That wasn't what I was gonna say."

"So... you'll stop?"

"Kaigo- Kaigo, you know I would and you know I would for you but... I just can't."

"Kaido-"

"Kaigo, I don't want to do this."

Really? "You don't?" 'Cause I thought this was part of your plan and...

"Kaigo, look. Yeah, this was part of my plan," Oh. "But it's not because I want it to. Kaigo, what dad wanted was the best for us and that's just what I want too."

"Kaido, the best for us isn't world domination."

"I, I know but just listen. Dad wasn't planning a world domination. Or, or a, a domination over everything in here in this force-fielded island or whatever."

I sighed. "No... it's not..."

"Dad... when he was a kid, he wondered. He wondered... What'd it be like to be out of here? To be off the island? To get through that weird force-field or whatever it is."

I can't help but smile a little.

"All he wants is for us to be free. I mean, we have this whole, huge island. It's great and we can go where ever we want in it. But knowing we won't be able to go farther... It just wasn't enough."

"Heh."

"It's not world domination or whatever, Kaigo- it's plain freedom."

"Okay, okay... But I don't get what Kumi's mother has to do with that. Or anything against that."

"That's the thing. People don't hear dad out. They though wrong of him and accused him of something he wasn't, didn't, or would ever do. But, you know, still wasn't too much too a big deal- no wars or whatever."

"Yeah?"

"But that woman- listen, there are two reasons why I've researched on Kumi a bit before. One- she fights good. If we can get her to trust us, she's ours. Two- her mom. Her mom had a plan to destroy dad's plan. Until now, she's pretty active. She doesn't know dad's dead. She's still on the lookout- Suspicious, untrusting, you know..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"And she's still planning up. If we can just cut her out of the picture, it wouldn't be so easy to clean, you know?"

Ouch. Sinister. "That, just now, sounded evil. That's the junk that makes me doubt you, you know?"

"Well, fine."

"But can't we just try to reason with her?"

"NO. No no no no... Kaigo, like I said, suspicious, untrusting. The very second she sees any of us... 'Instant Kill' Mode: On."

"Seriously?"

"Uh, YEAH 'seriously'."

"What if we try through Kumi?"

"Trust me, sis. There's no way, come on."

"No way? Like, no way AT ALL?"

"No way at all. Even if Kumi IS her daughter." I sigh. "Look sis, I'm sorry but we gotta do this. Look, I'll get someone else to do it-"

"No, no..."

"Sis, look-"

"I'll do it."

Silence fills the room for about twenty seconds.

"You sure?"

"..."

"Sis?"

"... Yes."

"I- Okay. Okay..."

~Flashback End~

**Ren's POV**

"What the WHAT?!" Kumi shouts in a freaked-out tone.

Ouch. That really hurt my ear.

"What?" Kaigo asks back.

"What do you mean 'what'?!"

"Hey, hey, come on, calm down," I say. "Especially you, Kumi. If I'd had known better, I'd have tackled you before you could continue your plan of secretly assassinating my ears."

"Sorry..."

"Kaigo," Riku says. "That's the truth?"

"The whole freaking truth, swear to everything Holy," she replies. And I believe her.

Kumi bites her lower lip.

"Kumi?" Kaigo asks.

Kumi looks away in a sort of guilty manner. "I..." she says. "I... believe you..." But her tone says 'I can't explain why but I believe you.'

"Kumi..." Riku says.

"If you do," Kaigo says, "It doesn't change how very sorry I am. Please forgive me."

"Well... You could've tried reasoning with _me_ about it..."

"No... There's one thing I was too afraid to mention..."

"...What?"

The drama atmosphere is suddenly lost. Wonderful.

"Like I said- I was too afraid to mention it."

"Well I'm telling you to mention it now."

"But-"

"You killed my mom, Kaigo, tell me!"

"Okay!" She sighed. "It was you or your mother."

"Wha...?"

"I couldn't forgive myself if you ever even got hurt in any way so I couldn't kill you. But if I killed your mom, I still wouldn't forgive myself but at least you'd... sort of be okay? Even though you'd hate me..."

"... You said 'wouldn't' that second time."

"Hey, you guys were equal threats. One plus one equals two so Kaido thought he had to subtract one of you out."

"What?!" Kaido shouted. "Why me? And why math?!"

"It's SO you!"

"GUYS!" Riku suddenly shouts. She's been left out all this time. "Look! Kaigo did something bad, she had a good reason, she's sorry. Kumi, forgive her. Kaido, let your sister and us go and let's all have some tea at my house, alright?!"

...

Let us have moments of silence for awkwardness...

"Well?!" She said. Wow, she's still in on it.

"Ms. Riku," Kaido says, "I... envy your simple-mindedness." He lets go of Kaigo and she comes running over to our cage.

"Whatever," Riku says. "See, this is why we can't have nice things."

Wow. Our lives' stories all together are just becoming a story on world peace or something.

...

Everybody screams. Why didn't I hear it? I turn around. There's an explosion.

* * *

**A/N: I've been inactive lately and really, I'm so sorry! I'm still trying to update these stories as often as I can, especially this one so... yeah. Thanks for those who are reviewing by the way! Few but enough to urge me to continue! :D**

**Please review!**


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